Masks no longer mandatory, still recommended

Ljubljana, 28 May - Wearing of face masks in closed public spaces is no longer mandatory in Slovenia, but it is still recommended according to guidelines by the National Institute of Public Health (NIJZ).

"The wearing of face masks is not an obligation, it is a recommendation designed to protect ourselves ... and to prevent transmission," NIJZ director Milan Krek told the press on Thursday.

In fact, masks have not been obligatory since 18 May, when a new government decree that allowed the gathering of up to 50 people in public entered into effect.

The decree no longer included the provision that made face masks mandatory, it is just that nobody appears to have noticed that the obligation was extinguished since the decree overrode a previous decree that made masks mandatory.

Instead, the new decree determines only that social distancing rules must be observed.

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© STA, 2020